Clothes-pin



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

D. PIERCE, OF SUNAPEE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CLOTHES-PIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,364, dated May 25, 1858; Reissued August 20,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DEXTER PIERCE, of Sunapee, in the county of Sullivan and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new Improvement in the Article Commonly Called a Clothes Clamp or Pin; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

That others skilled in the mechanic arts may be able to make and use my invent-ion I will endeavor to describe as briefly as I can its form and mode of construction.

I am aware that plain turned pins, whether headed or otherwise, are open to several objections, among which is prominent the difficult-y of making the limb of the pin light enough to be sufficiently yielding, and at the same time retaining the necessary size to afford the requisite strength. The main cause of this difficulty will at once appear when it is suggested that the pressure of the limbs of the pin apart is exceedingly unnatural, from the fact that the back or outside of each limb is in the form of an are, and is consequently braced against the bend o-r spring required; the plain and well known result being, that the pin-on the least eXtra pressure upon the line,-splits or parts in the middle: the fiber of the wood in the center of the pin giving way, because the limbs fail to bend as they ought to do, if they were properly constructed. The eXterior of the limb of my )in is made, with a view to obviate this di liculty, flat like the inside, so that, even an unreasonable amount of pressure upon the clothes line, instead of splitting the pin will simply cause an enlarged distension of the limbs; as may be readily tested by pressing the model upon the finger of the examiner or any other partially yielding object, when the superior elasticity of this form of pin will be at once apparent.

The limbs, as will be seen in the drawing at A, A retain an equality of thickness until near the end of the slit, when it slightly enlarges, to prevent the'breaking olf of the one limb or the other, as would be the result if the pin were made entirely straight on the outside. And this enlargement of the limbs of my pin, is made available for another benecialpurpose :-to wit, commences in putting on to, and taking olf from the line. By placing the thumb and fore linger in the hollows marked B, P it will be seen that the swell at each side of the hollows,- on pulling the pin olf or pressing it onserve to tighten the grasp of the holder, and therefore, to aid perceptibly in fastening or removing the pin. Another advantage arising from the peculiar conformation of my pin is, that when it is picked up for the purpose of being placed upon the line, the slightest touch will at once inform the user whether they have got it in proper position, without the trouble of occular examination: which is a feature not possessed by any other plain unhinged clamp that I know of.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A new article of manufacture: to wit: a

clothes pin, all the parts of which are constructed substantially. as within set forth.

DEXTER PIERCE.

litnesses IV. C. STURoE, DANIEL GEORGE.

[FIRST PRINTED 1911.] 

